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Address by President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis on the Eve of the New Year 2019

Dear people of Latvia in every region, city, town, and everywhere in the big world,

Friends of Latvia,

The past year will always remain in our memory as the year marking the Centenary of the Republic of Latvia. The year when we saw ourselves anew, and we have seen how big and strong Latvia is.

While celebrating the first century of Latvia, we have assessed our accomplishments, and we are looking forward with new expectations and in full swing.

We have created new cultural treasures; we have expressed a whole century in the song and in the dance. We have made responsible decisions boosting the economic growth of our country and building a strong and prosperous country together.

The red-white-red flag of Latvia has proudly flown and the prayer of our nation, the national anthem, has sounded proudly all over the world. We have been engaged in shaping our common future in a united Europe even more. We are delighted about our land and our people. Self-confidence built up for a century blossomed out this year!

I am confident that everyone has contributed and will contribute so that love, security, harmony, and prosperity would also reign in Latvia and at every home in the New Year and during the second century of our country.

We saw how much we have grown up, and the rest of the world saw it as well. The royal families and the leaders of many countries visited us to congratulate on the Centenary of Latvia. They were truly happy about our accomplishments, the beauty of our land, and the strength of our people.

Latvia is so near and dear for ourselves that we see every minor imperfection, but it can sometimes discourage us to make it better.

Therefore, let us put the daily worries aside at least during the holiday to proudly say, “Here is my country, this is my Latvia!”

We shall always remember that we are shaping Latvia gradually ourselves with our actions, our deeds, and our words. The story of Latvia is and shall be what we will create and tell ourselves.

In the past year, we saw what we could achieve. I urge you to draw your strength in the accomplishments, inspire, and support each other to achieve even more by a joint effort in the New Year. Let us be determined to fulfil our dreams and meet our goals to the delight of our loved ones and in honour of our country!